OJC Bueno-HEP graduation

Wednesday

Jun 26, 2013 at 1:00 PM

Director Sylvia Rocha of the Otero Junior College Bueno-HEP (High School Equivalency Program) has chosen two outstanding students for special recognition. They will both graduate on Friday evening at the Ed Stafford Theatre on the Otero Junior College Campus. They are both examples of hard work and persistence paying off. They are Barbara Frazier of Fowler and Jose Nestor Garfio-Ramos of Fowler.

Press release

Director Sylvia Rocha of the Otero Junior College Bueno-HEP (High School Equivalency Program) has chosen two outstanding students for special recognition. They will both graduate on Friday evening at the Ed Stafford Theatre on the Otero Junior College Campus. They are both examples of hard work and persistence paying off. They are Barbara Frazier of Fowler and Jose Nestor Garfio-Ramos of Fowler.

Barbara Frazier has been a Certified Nurse's Assistant for 23 years. When she was injured on the job last year and unable to work, she decided to take the opportunity to get her GED certificate. Her 20-year-old daughter is now taking the prerequisites for the nursing program at OJC., and she thought, "Why not try for the nursing program?"Frazier's family moved around a lot, and when she learned she had to repeat her senior year in high school, she was "young and dumb" enough not to do it, she said. When she took the pretest several years ago, she failed the English test. That section was still hard for her, but she was determined to make it this time. She never missed a class. "You get too far behind if you miss even one day," said Frazier.

Jose and Isabella Garfio-Ramos are pastors of the Centro Cristiano Vida Nueva Church in Rocky Ford. They are from Juarez, Mexico, where they also had a church. They have been involved in the ministry for 19 years, but they need a GED to get official certification so that they can obtain theological licensure to serve in such venues as prisons and hospitals. They are both primary Spanish-speakers, but are also working on learning English.

The night class offered in Spanish this year in the OJC Bueno-HEP program was doable for them, since they live in Rocky Ford. Also, the Spanish-language test was available at OJC in La Junta, instead of having to drive to Pueblo. They, too, never missed a class. Jose graduated but Isabella still has some work to do.

She said, "Si tu quieres, tu puedes. Solo necesitas gana." (If you want it, you can do it. You just need the will.) She also gives thanks to God for what they have and for the people.

Jose said he is grateful to the teachers and the time they put in. "They deserve our consideration and our appreciation for what they do."

The graduation ceremony is set for 7 p.m. Friday at the Ed Stafford Theatre. Seventy students have completed the program and are eligible to participate in the ceremony. Professor Jose Garcia-Paine, PhD, of the University of Colorado at Boulder will be the speaker. Born in Magala in Spain, Garcia-Paine came to the Pueblo area in southern Colorado, where he was sponsored by his adopted family, the Tafoyas. Not speaking English when he first arrived, he did manual labor until his English skills improved. He has worked his way up the ladder of academic success and is an accomplished speaker.